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Drawing parallels between Morsi and the situation in Egypt before the revolution ignores the complex nature of an emerging Egyptian democracy

Amidst the recent turmoil in Egyptian politics, proposed changes to the constitution have generated much controversy and in some quarters, outright anarchy. The changes were recently put to a referendum, with Morsi agreeing to abide by whatever the population decided. The majority voted yes, with 63.8% voting in favour of his decree. Albeit the numbers who went out to vote has decreased, this is the second time the electorate has voted in Morsi’s confidence. It is therefore surprising that sections of the media and many ‘liberals’ continue to inform the world over that there is no legitimate support for the Brotherhood. How can this possibly be when time and time again the people, i.e. the voters, have proved otherwise?

Some have suggested that the reason for the vitriolic opposition against Morsi is purely an economic one. This is a narrow-minded view of the situation on the ground in Egypt, with the economic hardships having been endured by a weary population for a lot longer than several months. One must remember why the Egyptian people began revolting in 2011; against Mubarak’s dictatorship and the economic restrictions he imposed, with over half of the population living below the poverty line. He squandered Egypt’s wealth and left the country and its people in poverty. Yet this is rarely discussed when talking about Egypt’s current state, with Morsi being held accountable for errors that have accumulated in the decades preceding his current election. It is unfair to blame one president for his predecessor’s mistakes.

Amongst the accusations thrown at Morsi in recent weeks by his critics are that he is a dictator, comparable to Mubarak, and even Hitler. One must question this attack on Morsi, a president who has been democratically elected. Regardless of one’s political views, the democratic reality of the Egyptian vote cannot be denied. Morsi did not force his way into power as his predecessor Mubarak did, nor has he stifled protests against him. In fact, he has encouraged a strong opposition and peaceful protests. Morsi has had only five months in power, assuming control of a country completely entrenched in corruption. Given the short time he has had in power, by any standards he has been judged severely. When assessing the impact a president has had on a country, it is done normally towards the end of their term, not at the start.

The initial spark to the recent uprising was Morsi’s constitutional decree that hands him overarching power, superseding that of the judiciary which has no right to stop or challenge his decisions. This judiciary however, remains a remnant of the old regime and pointedly impeded efforts to push through a new constitution that devolved their influence and authority. Although the measure seemed drastic, it was one proportional to the resistance he faces from the old guard. Even with this decree rescinded, the protesters continue to rebel against the government.

While it was necessary to head to Tahrir Square with Mubarak, a self-appointed president, in office, to now head to the streets on any given opportunity is problematic. How do protestors expect to rebuild the country if this is the response every time a decision is made? The opposition claims to want the best for Egypt, with democracy at its core. However at their first opportunity to work with the democratically elected president, they refused to partake in civic processes, instead deciding to protest. Perhaps the issue here is not with the constitutional decrees, but with Morsi and the fact that he belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan).

Many opponents of Morsi have made no secret of their despair that the Ikhwan have attained power in Egypt, refusing resolutely to partake in the rebuilding of the country, focusing primarily on partisan politics. The Ikhwan, notwithstanding their reputation in the West for violence and extremism, have over the years garnered significant grassroots support for their social welfare work. To suggest that most of those who support the Brotherhood are uneducated, or as journalist Matthieu Mabin proposed, farmers who were told to vote for Morsi through the Friday sermon, is inaccurate, condescending and belittles the revolution of the Egyptian people.

Even within his short tenure, to paint his reign as overwhelmingly negative ignores the positive outcomes he has achieved: from his successful talks with Omar Al-Bashir, leader of Sudan, to freeing imprisoned Egyptian journalists; from peace talks between Israel and Hamas to secure a ceasefire, to ridding the military in Egypt of their constitutional power of legislation, and retiring defence minister and Mubarak’s trusted associate Tantawi – an act that could have caused extreme violence, but was executed smoothly. These achievements should not go unnoticed, and the progress the country has made during his short time as president should not be disparaged.

The emphasis by the president has been on upholding democracy and maintaining the revolution, preventing the country from moving backwards into what it was. The situation in Egypt is not a perfect situation, nor is the leadership perfect. This is a learning process for everyone, as many in Egypt have only ever lived under dictatorship. It is crucial for the success of the revolution that people unite and work together, instead of finding excuses to hold a grudge against a democratically elected government.

Image from: http://msnbcmedia.msn.com

About the author

Naila Abdel-Khalek
Naila Abdel-Khalek is a perpetual student, who completed her undergraduate degree at King's College London, and has a keen interest in human rights law.

3 Comments

Dr A Khalek

Excellent analysis, well written, other major success Morsi has managed to achieve in a short period is that Egypt has started to regain its role as a leading country in the Middle East. Morsi has been recognised for his achievements internationally — Time magazine has classified him as the 4Th most influential character in the year 2012 albeit beeing only six months in his post. I would suggest you may consider sensding the article to some Middle Eastern journals so that more readers may have access to.

-Morsi promised alot of things if he was elected but he didn’t ‘keep his word after

-Morsi promised rearranging the constitution committee and make it more balanced

-Morsi promised he won’t put the constitution to a referendum unless there is a consensus

-constitutional decree:
there were another ways to face the resistance from the old guard as he claimed “judiciary law were he won’t need constitutional decree for it ”

-opposition :
actually they sit with Morsi and talked about the constitution and how to consensus about it “Mousa and Abou El Fetouh and Hamden 3/11/2012 and ElBaradei 13/11/2012” Morsi didn’t mention any thing about old guard or conspiracy or the constitutional decree
“22/11/2012” he intend to “actually no one know where this decision came from his advisors didn’t know any thing about it and most of them resign even Mahmoud Mekki former Morsi’s vice president didn’t know any thing about it and he was against it .

-so opposition have no problem in talking with Morsi but when Morsi deceive them and say something and do the opposite then the meeting is just for taking pictures and improving his image to the Public inside and outside

protest:
ElBaradei or Hamden or anyone can’t control the street if the people felt that Morsi is lying and he didn’t keep his promises and he listen only to the Muslim Brotherhood so people have all the right to protest against this policies and we did “4/12/2012” and it was peaceful protest then Morsi send his supporters from Muslim Brotherhood “5/12/2012” and clashes happened and he stood watching as Mubarak did in Camel battle “2/2/2011″ which got Mubarak into prison

-it’s 100% accurate if you listen to any Islamic channel in the days past the referendum they said that who says no to the constitution are infidel ,atheist, against Islam ,Christian beside the smear campaign against all opposition in the presidential palace Sit-in and calls them morally decadent and homosexual so who do you think the uneducated will believe

-Morsi deposed Tantawi and made him his advisor ” Tantawi responsible for events of the Council of Ministers 17 died 1917 Injuries and Maspero demonstrations 28 died 212 Injuries and Port Said Stadium disaster ” he should face trial for his crime not give him medal and make him advisor

i hate to say that but there is alot of facts you cant get unless you interact with people in the ground

While the Brotherhood may be just playing nice for poiitlcal reasons, isn’t it possible that the situation in Egypt is a good thing? Isn’t an active, awakened, not passive, and not stagnant Muslim and Arab world a good thing for the world? Doesn’t this take the wind out of the sales of Al Qaida and others (including the Brotherhood) who point to the corrupt, anti-democratic governments, and say they are the only alternative?I don’t know the answer, but I do believe in democracy and letting people chose their own fate.

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